Union signs up Nass workers A LABOUR contract signed in the Nass Valley last week is the latest in a growing number of collec- tive agreements for peaple working for native govern- ments and agencies. Approximately 40 regu- lar employees and dozens of casual workers of the Nisga'a Valley Health Board sow have a two- year deal through the Hos- pital Employee’s Union. Unions predict more collective agreements will ‘be signed across the pro- vince as mere and more native governments and agencies are established. The deal, which expires March a ae follows unions organizing native We golng to WO YERIS OL hégotlaiions j - and provides for wage and Seite: ie gte BC. Gov- HogpITAL EMPLOYEES’ UNION (HEU) officials and members of the union’s ARD WORKING benefit increases and the ployees Union (BCGEU) Nass Valley local stand outside the Nisga’a Valley Health Board's main facllity need to post job descrip- Originally formed to te. it New Aiyansh Feb. 19 after their first collective agreement was signed. Left to VOLUNTEERS. tions and to standardize gmal'y right: Lydia Stephens (HEU Nisga'a focal}, Millie Azak (HEU Nisga'a You all know hiring practices. it also includes special bereavement leave condi- tions recognizing Nisga’a cultural values when there is a death of a family member, That latter is important because it means tradi- tional labour contracts can include specific cuitural realities, says Chris All+ nutt, the secretary-business manager of the Hospital Employees’ Union. “This is over and above any standard bereavement leave,” he said. Allnuit said the contract workers under contract. It also represents work- ers at the Kitselas band just outside of Terrace, and at Port Simpson on ihe coast, CUPE also represents the workers at CFNR but they are in the process of decertifying, says local CUPE official Tammy Simmonds, As is the case with All- nutt from the HEU, Sim- monds predicts there'll be more agreements between native governments and agencies and their workers. “I see potential in what " is going on,” she said. One of the more active piesent provincial povern- ment workers, it has bran- ched out as more and more Services were contracted out to non-profit societies, Organizing workers of Native governments and agencies is part of that branching out program. “We have 15 certifica- tions,” says Holly Page, one of three BCGEU orga- nizers assigned to organiz- ing native workers. It’s not been an easy job as just as is the case in other sectors of the econ- omy, there are good em- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - Al3 local), John Hurran (Northern Regional Director, HEV), Florence Nisyok (HEU Nisga‘a local), Heather Stevens (HEU Nisga'a local) and Chris Allnutt (HEU se- cratary-business manager). HEU PHOTO Monuments I Bronze Plaques Terrace Crematorium 4626 Davis Street Terrace, B.C. V8G 1X7 Funeral Serve = Phone 635-2444 * Pax 635-635-2150 Assocation MacKay’s Funeral Service Ltd. Serving Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers & Prince Rupert Concermed personal service in the Northwest since 1946 24 hour pager ployers and bad employ- ers, she said. In Kamloops and in Westbank, just outside of Kelowna, the BCGEU has faced problems with band governments who- have op- posed certifications. | The tricky part is deal- ing with people who wear two hats as employers dur- ing the day but who are also leaders in their com- munities, said Page. ; Those two roles some- times don't mesh easily, she added, “Our position is that there are workers who need an advocate and you have to ask who is their advocate,” Page said. There remains one large group of unorganized workers in the Nass, em- ployees of the newly for- med and growing Nisga’a Lisims government. Page said the BCGEU 2001 is the YEAR OF THE VOLUNTEER who they are! shy Your business can SPONSE A et GRITEER Just tet us know who It is, We will photograph and highlight that person ina Special Supplement. Your Investment Is only $75 + GST. held off on organizing drives pending completion of the Nisga’a treaty. With that sow finished, the BCGEU is casting its eye toward the Nass. For more Information, please contact Brian or Darlene at the IT'S TIME TO LET THE PEOPLE WHO WORK 50 HARD KNOW THAT WE APPRECIATE THEIR EFFORTS, “I’ve been up there a few times,” Page admits. “We look forward to A getting an invitation from | + there.” A: Terrace Standard # 638-7283, with the Nisga’a Valley Health Board in the Nass Valley brings pay and benefits improvements, says a union official. Just as important, says John Hurren of the HEU’s Prince George office, it sets out a structure for job postings, pay rates and se- niority. “It was willy nilly and that’s going to change,” he said of how wage rates were determined and how _ hiring took place. Wage iticreases are ret- roactive to April 1 of 1999 and there’s a wage re- opener this April 1 for the contract which expires in the spring of 2002, Increases, depending upon classification of job, range between $1 an hour and $4 an \hour, said Hur- Ten, . “Casuals will be calied back in order of seniority,” said Hurren of how part time workers will be brought in. The Nisga’a Valley local of the HEU now has an elected executive and most of the shop stewards have already been chosen. Florence Nisyok, one of the HEU workers in the Nass who helped negotiate the contract, said members welcome the setting up of a structure for posting jobs, - .. hirings and call backs. °-" “It'll be on the basis of merit,” she sald. took two years to negotiate - because it took time for each party to understand the values each brought to Blastocysti the bargaining table. astocystis cases “This is more than a March 2001 . . — —— : i . 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